Rapture:

Sanctuary

Chapter 1

Austin Lowe stuck close to shadows. Going undetected was important. He was an engineer, not a soldier. Actually he wasn't either anymore. Nothing less than a soldier could fight the mutated horrors that roamed the halls of Rapture.

Pick up the pace. They're almost here. Austin could hear the twisted screams of splicers that echoed through the halls. He was convinced that they somehow knew what he was up to. And they would do anything to stop him from taking their beloved hell away from them.

Here we go. Austin peeked around the corner of a doorway and saw where he needed to be. Once someone's garden, the room had a window. Out of the way and somewhat hidden, the garden was a perfect place to plant one of his bombs.

Caution was advisable whenever entering a room. It was a lesson Austin learned the hard way. Hence his limp, caused by a blow from a splicer's heavy wrench. So when he entered the room it was with his pistol drawn.

The room was dark. The only light came from the large circular window against the far wall. Under it were rows of dead gardens. Much like Rapture itself, the once beautiful planters were filled with beauty lost.

That smell. I know that smell. There was a rotten aroma in the room. Austin smelled it from outside but it got much stronger once he entered the room. It didn't take long for him to discover the source.

Leaned up against one wall in the room was the corpse of an older woman. From the state of her decomposition it looked like she had been there for a while. If Austin hadn't seen his fair share of death he wouldn't have recognized the bloated greyish purple remains.

On the wall behind the dead woman were pieces of her brains and dried blood splatter. In one of her hands there was a pistol, not unlike the one Austin carried. Though not a detective he easily deduced that she killed herself.

I don't blame you. Austin pulled the collar of his shirt up over his nose and mouth. He knelt down and pried the gun from the dead gardener’s death grip. She didn't need the ammo anymore whilst he most likely would.

After looting the dead gardener, Austin got back to work. He walked over the gardens to the window. Nostalgia got the better of him as he couldn't help but stare out.

The window was thick, built to withstand the intense pressures of the deep Mid Atlantic. It'd been awhile since anyone cleaned any of the windows in Rapture, so it was a bit cloudy. But whoever the dead woman was, she must've been rich because she had one hell of a view.

Austin pressed his hand against the cold glass. From it he could see almost the whole of Rapture. Even in its dusk, the underwater city was breath taking. It had buildings as tall and impressive as Manhattan or Chicago. They reached up towards the surface like a skyscraper to the sun. The architecture was an art deco lover's, like Austin, dream. Andrew Ryan built a new wonder of the world.

The bold shapes and lush colors of the buildings, while worn down by the unforgiving salty ocean, were exceptional. Austin admired the exquisite symmetry of it all. It was very pleasing to the eye. On top of that they were decorated with enough gold and copper ornamentation to make kings jealous.

There was more to Rapture's design then just a copy of the cities above the waves. Every inch of the underwater city was laced with the most advanced technology and the most innovative designs known to man. It was meant to be a utopia far away from the strife of the normal world. And it succeeded. For a time.

From where he looked, Austin could see the neon lit sign of the Kashmir Restaurant. As he stared at it he couldn't help but start stroking the wedding band on his ring finger with his thumb. The life he built for himself in Rapture really started there, the place in which he had his first date with his wife. His Emily.

What did her voice sound like? What did she smell like? What did that smile I loved so much look like? Why can't I remember? I've been down here too long.

Austin looked down at his wedding ring. There was an engraving on it that read: “Love is never giving up”. True it didn't make sense to most but to Austin and his Emily, it had very significant meaning. And there in that dead garden, it gave the former engineer the encouragement he needed to continue. Rapture had to be destroyed. Only then will he find his sanctuary, his peace.

Austin came from the wealthy Lowe family of Omaha, Nebraska. His great-great grandfather was once a farmer. He not only grew the corn but decided he wanted to expand to make more money and provide a better life for his family. Before long he founded Lowe Mills. The company eventually became the biggest provider of corn based products in all of the American Mid-West.

Affluence had degraded some of Austin's families' character. Or so he thought. So as his brothers and cousins bought their way out of the draft during the Second World War, he volunteered for duty. It was a decision he'd come to regret.

When he came back from the Pacific, Austin had no patience for his family and what he saw as their “frivolous and shallow lives”. After seeing the horrors of war, the life of luxury made him feel guilty, especially as the ghosts of his friends and fellow soldiers haunted him. He wanted something better. He wanted to be a part of something special. Only then would specters of war leave him be.

Austin figured that the first thing to do was get a proper college education. Eager to get as far from his family as possible, he applied and got accepted into Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineering program. Once he graduated, the young man, armed with a prestigious degree and surname, could work pretty much wherever he pleased. The problem was that none of them provided him with an opportunity to work towards change he sought. None of the positions would allow him to contribute to a better world.

Depressed and haunted, Austin drowned his sorrows in a bar on the Boston waterfront called The Salty Crab. There he could be found from afternoon to midnight. It got so bad that he got a reputation for being a drunk. So if he ever wanted to take advantage of his degree, no one would hire him. Then one night a man walked into the bar and changed Austin's life.

“Another,” said Austin as he sat at The Salty Crab's bar. The bartender gave him a sideways look.

“Wha? C'mon, fill it up Bernie.” Austin reached in his pocket then slapped down a crumpled wad of cash.

“Maybe you had enough?” Bernie the bartender knew where his night was headed if he indulged Austin's alcoholism.

“I'll tell y-” Austin was interrupted by his own dry heaving.

“That's it. You're done for the night Mr. Lowe.” Bernie had enough.

“Bar keep. A water for my friend here. It looks like he needs it,” Austin heard a voice next to him. His accent was proper and clearly came from academia.

Austin wiped the tears from his eyes and turned to see who just sat down on the stool next to him. There sat a man in a sharp suit. His hair was slick and styled. He had a well groomed mustache.

“I don't want any damn water.”

“I know you don't Mr. Lowe.”

“Yeah, well how the hell do you know what I want?”

The mustachioed man smiled as if he was waiting for that specific question. “Because Mr. Lowe. I recognize you. Once upon a time I was like you.”

“A drunk?”

The mustachioed man laughed. “No. I was lost. I looked at the world and didn't like what I saw.”

“So? There's nothing to do about it.” Austin swallowed what was sure to be some vomit after finishing his sentence. Perhaps he had six too many glasses of whiskey. “The world is hopeless. That's just the way it is. Learn to accept it buddy.”

Bernie the bartender set a glass of water down in front of Austin.

“Thank you kind sir. Now, Mr. Lowe where were we. Oh yes. What if I told you that I know of a place away from this world where a man   prospers not from being a social parasite but by the sweat of his brow? What if I told you of a world free of corrupt politicians and crooked justice? What if I told you of a place free of war? What if I told you of a utopia that you could help mold? Would that be of any interest to you?”

Austin didn't answer. He just stared at the glass of water in front of him.

“We all make choices Mr. Lowe,” the mustachioed man got up. He placed a business card on the bar in front of Austin. On it was the outline of a skyline he didn't recognize. “Rapture” was written in big gold letters across them. Under it was a name: “Andrew Ryan”.

“But in the end, our choices make us. Have a good night. I hope to hear from you soon.” The mustachioed man, Andrew Ryan, left The Salty Crab.

Austin watched Andrew Ryan leave. Then he flipped over the card and saw contact information. At the time he didn't know it, but that short conversation would change the course of his life.

CHAPTER 2

MIT didn't teach Austin how to build bombs. But what he learned there certainly helped. In fact from what meager supplies he had at his disposal, he managed to construct explosives powerful enough to blow through any wall, window or even bulkhead in Rapture. He got the idea to put some together from the endless array of improvised weapons that the splicers utilized.

When he finished building them, Austin put all five of his bombs in his duffel bag and slung it around his shoulder. He took one of them out his bag and held it against the window in the room with the dead garden. With his other hand he ripped off pieces of duct tape and used them to adhere it to the glass.

Three down, two to go. Keep quiet, stick to the shadows and it shouldn't be a pro- If Austin's ears could've perked up, they would of. He heard the voices of splicers. And they were close.

“Where da liddle fishy go?” from the sound of one of the splicers, he or she mustn't of had many teeth left. Tooth decay and rot was one of the many adverse effects of an ADAM addiction.

“He's in here. I can smell em'.” There was a second more feminine voice.

They've got you cornered. So, what are you going to do genius? Austin opened the cylinder of his revolver to check how many bullets were left. He hadn't fired a shot in weeks so he honestly had no clue how many he'd find. There were four left. Two more from the dead gardner's pistol were in his pocket. Should be plenty to take care of two ADAM crazed junkies.

After making sure to wedge himself into the furthest corner from the doorway, he raised and aimed his pistol. He slowed his breathing and steadied the sights. Wasting even a single bullet wasn't an option. Whoever stepped into the room was going to get a single shot to their head.

The first splicer entered the room. Her dress was dirty and ripped. ADAM had butchered her face causing growths and unhealed open sores. All of her exposed limps had numerous tumors. She barely resembled a human being. In one of her hands she had what looked like a table leg with a table saw blade nailed into the end.

Austin didn't hesitate. He fired off a round that nearly took the deformed splicer's head off. She immediately fell face first into the garden dirt. There was no time for relief. The other splicer couldn't have been far behind.

Where is he? Austin waited and waited for the second splicer to enter the room. But he didn't come. The former engineer prepared to go out looking for him when a hulking figure appeared in the doorway.

At about six and a half feet of pure muscle, the giant splicer was so big he had to duck in order to fit in the room. The top half of his head was covered with a blood splattered pillow case. The bottom half revealed skin that looked severely burned and a mouth full of no more than three teeth. In his hands he carried a fire axe.  Pieces of his last victim were still stuck to the pick side.

Austin fired his last three bullets into the giant splicer. They just made the gigantic freak smile. That was all Lowe had.

This is it. This is how I die. In a dead garden leagues under the North Atlantic at the hands of mutated freak. Unless… Austin didn't have many options. What little he did have were whittled down to one when the giant splicer rushed towards him wildly swinging his axe.

The splicer was too big and the room too small to just run around him. No, Austin needed a distraction. It just so happened he had a bag full of explosives with one already planted. Would it be dangerous? Absolute, but nowhere near as dangerous as trying to dodge an axe blade.

Each of Austin's bombs was rigged with radio remote detonators.   They were all set to a single frequency. When armed, they exploded once they received the signal.

Austin took out the detonator. Another swing from the giant splicer's axe nearly took his arm off. Instead it cut a good inch into his shoulder as it passed by. He didn't feel the pain. Adrenaline had completely taken over his body.

A big meaty hand that smelled of hot garbage grabbed Austin by his throat. With strength he'd never encountered before, he was lifted up off the ground. As he choked a foot above the floor, one of his fingers searched for the correct button, the correct frequency, on his detonator. He had to hurry. The world slowly started to fade to black.

Everything that happened next was a bit of a blur to Austin. His finger found the button and he set off the explosive. The force and surprise from the blast loosened the giant splicer's grip. No sooner did the former engineer hit the ground then he got carried away by a tidal wave of cold salty ocean water.

The water dragged Austin out of the room into the hallway. He slammed into a Circus of Values vending machine. Horrible recorded laughter mocked him as he tried to get up to his feet. More and more water was coming. In front of him was a bulkhead door that needed to be closed. It was too soon to drown. First he needed to finish his work.

Austin pried himself off the vending machine. It kept laughing at him as he pushed on the bulkhead door with all his strength and weight. He made the mistake of looking up and saw the giant splicer coming his way. Apparently the freak was stronger than the current.

With the proper motivation, more specifically not wanting an axe buried in his skull, Austin found the strength to close the bulkhead door. As he spun the wheel he heard and felt a loud thump. The splicer hit the thick steel hard. Though he would never admit it, even to himself, Austin took some pleasure in watching the monster drown through the porthole.

Soaking wet, tired and very sore, Austin backed away from the bulkhead door. He dropped his bag full of bombs and took a minute to catch his breath. The pain from his shoulder wound kicked in.

When Austin looked around he found himself in a large atrium. The ceiling was thick windows giving a view of looming buildings and fishes swimming above. The floor had a black and white checkerboard pattern. In the middle of the room was a pile of ash and burned tables and chairs.

I remember eating here. Austin looked around and recognized he was in one of the cafeterias. Against one wall was a neon sign with only half the words lit up: “Saul's Hotdogs.” Under it was a counter covered in trash. Saul's was only one of four different food stalls.

I need to do something about this before I bleed out. Across the cafeteria, Austin spotted a health station. The brightly lit circular white sign with a red cross on it was hard to miss. He hated using them but had little choice.

Austin limped across the cafeteria. His wet footsteps echoed through the large room. He hoped that there weren't any nearby splicers to hear.

When he reached the health station, he looked at the poster next to it. Whatever adhesive was used to keep the poster on the wall was losing its stickiness. One of the corners was peeled off. There was a picture of a health station. Above it the poster read: “Need a boost? Try our new and improved Prime Health Station!”. There was nothing on the poster to warn users about the syringe that would puncture their skin. Nor was there any mention of how painful the quick healing of a wound was.

Austin opened the health station up. If he was going to use it, he needed to hack into it. Everything still ran on money in the ultra-capitalist Rapture. The former engineer didn't have any and didn't want to go looking for some. No, hacking it would be easier and quicker. He just needed to be careful. All Prime Health Station were rigged with poisonous gas fail safes in order to deter people from doing exactly what he was doing. Luckily he was very familiar with how the electronics and machinations inside worked.

Done with hacking the health station, Austin placed his inured arm into the provided cradle. No fan of needles, he closed his eyes as the automated delivery system injected him with a stem-cell based chemical that quickly healed the cut on his shoulder. It hurt as the wound closed but that was a small price to pay for almost instantaneous healing. The miraculous station was another depressing reminder of the amazing technology and innovation that Rapture once championed.

CHAPTER 3

“You up Mr. Lowe?” Austin heard a voice in his cabin with him. It was a nice change of pace from the hum of the ship's engines. But he was tired and didn't want to even open his eyes.

“Mr. Lowe?” The owner of the voice poked Austin, waking him all the way up. When the engineer opened his eyes he saw a young man with a shirt covered in engine grease looking at him.

“What time is it?” groggily asked Austin as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

“I dunno. Half past seven I think. Mr. Ryan asked me to fetch you. So you need to get up.”

Oh, Mr. Ryan told you to huh? Guess I better come running. “Okay, just, give me a second will ya? Let me at least put on some pants.”

The engine grease covered young man waited outside for Austin to get dressed. Not one for being summoned, the engineer took his sweet time putting on his trousers, shoes, and button up shirt. He checked himself in the mirror before exiting his cramped cabin.

Escorted by the engine grease covered young man, Austin made his way through the bowels of the ship. As he made his way through the cramped, wet, humid corridors; Austin wondered why a man as rich and successful as Andrew Ryan didn't travel in a luxury liner. Perhaps Rapture cost him his fortune. That made the engineer feel better. The man in charge risked everything, just like himself, just like everyone else involved in the project.

Austin and his escort emerged from the dark depths of the ship to be greeted by the early morning sun. It was refreshing. Standing a dozen feet away, among the containers and cargo was the man who had the dream of a utopia far from the shores of any continent. Andrew Ryan turned and smiled when he saw his newest engineer.

“Mr. Lowe!” Ryan walked over and shook Austin's hand. From the look on his face he was thrilled to not only greet his engineer but be back at the site where his dream would come to pass.

“Good morning Mr. Ryan. May I ask, where the hell are we?” asked Austin.

“Rapture my friend, or to be more accurate above it.” Ryan walked towards the edge of the ship knowing that Austin would follow. He was right.

Austin pointed down at the deck. “Below us? You mean it's done?”

“Done? Don't worry. There's still plenty of work to do. After all, why do you think I brought you out here?” Andrew Ryan stopped at the railing at the edge of the ship. Austin could see he was looking, no marveling, at something. He wanted to see what could elicit such a reaction.

This is…Austin stood next to Ryan and beheld the spectacle that was the building of Rapture. After twelve he stopped counting ships. On their decks and cargo hold they hauled everything from steel I beams to porcelain toilets. And those were just the big freighters. Two or three times as many smaller boats sent divers down to work on the underwater city. Then there was a huge boulder looking island in the middle of all of it.

“It's a lighthouse.”

“What?” asked Austin. He was so wrapped up in the all the commotion that he wasn't really paying attention to his boss.

“You're probably wondering what they're building on that little island.” Andrew Ryan pointed at the island and the quarter built structure on top of it. Men on scaffolding worked feverishly to try and complete it.

“We're kind of far from shore for a lighthouse. Is it safe?”

Andrew Ryan turned his head and made eye contact with “What are lighthouses for? What's their purpose?”

“Well they warn ships right. They let them know where the shore is so they don't crash into it.”

Ryan had an almost crazed look in his eyes. “Exactly! We want to warn any wandering boats to keep away.”

“Keep people away? But I thought you were building a utopia?”

“I am. But utopia only works without the undesirables. If I, if we just let anyone in who happened to stumble upon Rapture then it'll run into the same problems we're trying to get away from. The parasites and the leeches will come and drain this great dream of what will make it so wonderful. Do you want that?” Ryan's intense stare trapped Austin.

That seems kind of wrong. Doesn't it? “I guess not.”

“There's no need for guessing. You definitely don't want that. Trust me. Anyway, you want to get a closer look? See where you'll be working for the foreseeable future.” Ryan put his hand on Austin's shoulder and squeezed. Another one of his employees got his attention and he left the engineer alone to get more of his first look at Rapture. It made quite an impression.

Austin stayed on the ship for another hour or so before Ryan took him out on a skiff to the island/lighthouse. He didn't know why but he was a bit nervous. The fact that he was about to enter an unfinished underwater city probably had something to do with it.

“Watch your step sir,” said one of the Rapture construction workers as he stood on the island's dock and held out his hand.

“After you,” urged Ryan.

What a gentleman. Austin took the worker's hand and was pulled up out of the skiff onto the dock. It was nice getting off of the water and onto something a little more solid. Being a native of Nebraska, he never felt comfortable on the water.

Andrew Ryan and Austin walked up the steps that led to the front doors of the lighthouse. The tall gold plated entrance was something else. Engraved in the metal was a picture of Atlas, holding up the world with two hands. Austin hadn't seen opulence like that since he left his family's mansion so many years prior.

“Italy.” Ryan noticed Austin's admiring of the doors.

“Hmmm?”

“A fried on mine from Florence designed them and had them built. Beautiful are they not?”

“Yeah.”

“You haven't seen anything yet. C'mon. It's time to go in.” Like the gatekeeper to some magical world, Ryan led Austin inside the partially completed lighthouse.

That seems a little arrogant. But I guess you'd have to be to take on a project like this. The first thing that Austin noticed was a bronze statue of Andrew Ryan himself. Hanging from the bust was a red banner that read: “No Gods or Kings. Only Man.”

After turning his attention away from the Andrew Ryan statue, Ryan led him towards the only staircase. He went on about his philosophy on what Rapture was meant to be. But ever since he decided to call the mad genius, Austin heard the sales pitch over-and-over again. Frankly he was sick of it. So he tuned his host out.

We're not taking the stairs down to Rapture are we? Austin followed Ryan down the granite and marble stairwell which ended in an open room. Two sets of stairwells went down either way. At their bottom was a metal sphere. He couldn't tell if it was made of bronze or copper but it had an impressive shine to it. A glass door on the front of the sphere was open.

“Ever seen one of these before Mr. Lowe?” asked Ryan as he presented the sphere.

“It's a bathysphere right? They use them for diving.”

Andrew Ryan smiled. “Exactly, but a bigger version. This is how residents will arrive. I want them to feel some wonder and mystery before arriving in paradise.”

“This should certainly do it,” said Austin as he pointed at the bathysphere.

“This? No, the wonder comes next.” Ryan got inside the bathysphere. “Coming?”

Austin was a little wary at first. Faith in Ryan helped him overcome his safety concerns and get in. If he died at least he did so in a somewhat interesting manner.

The glass door slowly closed. There was a whooshing noise as the bathysphere pressurized. Austin sat down on the bench across from Ryan's. A single lever near the back wall was the only instrument. Ryan pulled it down.

There was some brief rumbling, and then the bathysphere started to descend. Once it got past the rock of the island, Austin could see the waters of the Mid-Atlantic through the glass door. He and Ryan kept going down. A school of fish swam past reminding him of where he was.

After a half a minute or so the lights inside the bathysphere faded. The bathysphere got deep enough that barely any sunlight managed to penetrate. It should have been dark. But the depths were lit up by work lights and underwater construction crews. Through their beams Austin could see divers in suits far beyond anything he'd ever seen before.

“When everything is done and ready, a panel will go over the door. I'm having a projector installed against the back wall so that we can play an introduction to Rapture for new residents.” What Ryan left out was the fact that the film would mostly be about him, his genius and his greatest work would be more of an afterthought or excuse to praise himself.

“Here we are. Go ahead, get a closer look,” there was a confidence in Ryan's face as he pointed at the glass door.

Let see what I got myself into. Austin got up from his bench and took a look out the glass. What he saw went beyond his highest most hopeful expectations. When Ryan told him he was building an underwater city, he had no idea that he meant it so literally.

The bathysphere's track winded in and out of skyscrapers that would have been right at home in any major city across the world. Though most were still under construction, they were impressive. There must've been at least a hundred men in those unique diving suits working to finish the goliath structures. Everywhere he looked there were neon signs advertising the businesses and buildings that would make up Rapture.

“Do you see it?” asked Ryan. Austin didn't notice but the mustachioed man crept up right behind him. He couldn't help but admire his own work.

“Yeah, it's… I've seen some things in my day Mr. Ryan but this is something else.”

“I know it's very impressive but that's not what I'm talking about.” Ryan pointed at what looked like another building being built.

“What is it?”

“The reason you're here. It was a library. That was before it imploded from the-”

“From the pressure, I wondered how you could keep structural integrity under such extreme conditions.”

“We were able to figure it out for the smaller structures. But the big buildings are giving my architects and engineers fits. It's too expensive to properly support them. That's the first thing I need you to work on. Find me an affordable way to build as big as I want while resisting the immense pressures down here. When that's done-”

That's a hell of a task. “If.”

“When it's done, I'll need your help inside the city. My guys, they're good but I need an outside perspective. I need someone to tell me when I'm wrong and why. Can you do that?”

Before Austin could answer the bathysphere reached its destination. Above the entrance the Rapture were the words: “All good things of this Earth flow into the city.” He wasn't sure what that meant. It wasn't until years later he realized the exact opposite was true.

CHAPTER 4

Keep moving. You got to keep moving or eventually those bastards will find you. Though I need to eat something. How long has it been since my last “meal”? Austin needed to leave the cafeteria. First he raided Saul's Hotdogs to see if he could find any edible food. It was a long shot. But one that paid off. A can of beans, undoubtedly used for Saul's famous chili dogs, would provide him with what was hopefully his last meal in Rapture.

After forcing himself to down a lukewarm can of beans, Austin left the cafeteria. He needed to get to Neptune's Bounty. Once a front for Fontaine's criminal empire, they would be crucial in the destruction of the accursed city. From there most of Rapture would be flooded. The mutants and monsters that roamed its halls would drown in the cold salty waters of the Atlantic.

After Neptune's Bounty Austin then needed to cross over some dangerous areas/districts. He had to cross the medical pavilion which many would've considered suicide. From there he had a fairly clear path to the lounge, welcome station and bathysphere. It was far from a straight line. Going out of the way was worth it. He was determine to meet his end on dry land.

Austin quietly navigated the halls of Rapture. When possible he walked on carpet. He stuck to the shadows. Whenever possible it was wise to avoid confrontation, especially considering he was unarmed. He needed to find an El Ammo Bandito machine. That became a priority.

Austin was making good progress when he turned a corner and saw a red light. As quickly as he could he jumped back the way he came. If he didn't he would've been riddled with bullets from a gun turret.

Trapped by my own creation. Appropriate. A couple of years after arriving in Rapture, Ryan approached Austin. There had been problems with an organized criminal organization that formed under the leadership of a man named Fontaine. He needed the engineer's help designing a city wide security system. Despite not being a field he had any experience in, Austin managed to design what his boss needed. His crowning achievement? Motion activated machine gun turrets. If he'd known what they were later used for he'd never of even considered even taking the idea to the drawing board.

There wasn't much that Austin could do. He knew how to hack his gun turrets but doing so would require him to get uncomfortably close. Seeing that he wasn't bullet proof he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either he risked getting gunned down right there in the hallway. Or he could go hours out of his way and risk being eviscerated or worse by the monsters of Rapture. It was a hard decision that was suddenly taken out of his hands.

Austin felt a sharp warm pain in his back, around his left shoulder. When he reached back to rub what he thought was just a pulled muscle or bruise from his incident with the giant splicer, his fingers touched something hot enough to singe.

“Son of a bitch! What the hell!?” Austin's didn't care about keeping his voice down. Not anymore.

Though it burned, Austin needed to try and get whatever was in his back, out. So he pulled down his sleeve over his hand and reached back again. His hand rapped around something solid. Before he knew it the extremely thin buffer between him and the source of the searing heat burned away. The former engineer yelled out in pain as he pulled out whatever was in his back.

Right after extracting what was stuck in his back; Austin dropped it onto the carpet. Much to his surprise it was a red hot meat hook. He'd seen one of them before. And he knew who wielded them.

Sure enough when Austin turned around he saw a splicer hanging from the ceiling. The freak had on a white rabbit mask stained yellow with plashed of dried blood on it. The demented bunny cocked his head to the side then rushed across the ceiling towards the former engineer. He used meat hooks, to grip the plaster and move at an alarming speed.

On instinct Austin reached for his pistol. It wasn't there. During his water driven tumble earlier that night he lost it. So he was left defenseless. Being trapped in a corner with no way to defend himself had become a habit.

Wait till he gets close. Don't lose your nerve. Just wait. Austin stood and watched as the rabbit masked splicer continued across the roof towards him. His plan was simple but incredibly dangerous.

The rabbit masked splicer hopped off the roof when he was mere feet away from Austin. That's when the former soldier turned the corner towards the gun turrets. If the splicer didn't follow then that was the end for Austin Lowe.

Austin saw the lights from the machine gun turrets. Both guns trained on him. He closed his eyes in mid stride expecting to be lit up. But a second later they changed their target and focused on the rabbit masked splicer who followed very close behind.

While the rabbit masked splicer took dozens of bullets to its torso, Austin scrambled past the guns and fell once he was clear from their field of fire and motion sensors. Not convinced he was safe, he flipped over to his back and watched as his pursuer fell face first in a growing puddle of his own ADAM tainted blood.

Satisfied he was in the clear but not willing to wait around, Austin got up. The pain in his shoulder made it hard for him to pry himself off the carpeted floor. Much like all the trials he face in his years under the sea, he overcame it.

With the gun turrets circumvented, Austin was ready to move on and make his way to Neptune's Bounty. Then he heard wet coughs. When he looked to see where they came from, he saw that the rabbit masked splicer not only wasn't dead but he was crawling towards him.

Persistent little bastard aren't you? Austin watched as the splicer in the rabbit mask used one of its meat hooks like an ice axe as he crawled towards the former engineer. Not willing to take any chances, he decided to finish the freak off.

First Austin stepped on the splicer's wrist, disarming him. Then he picked up the rabbit masked freak's meat hook. With one swing he lodged the pointy end into the splicer's skull, killing him instantly.

No more surprises. Austin was sick of being snuck up on. He wanted to cover his back. So he went to work hacking into the turret guns he helped create. Armed with his intimate knowledge of all of Rapture's security systems, he had no problems rigging them so they'd shoot any splicers that wandered in front of their sensors. Their red lights turned green giving him visual confirmation that he succeeded.

This place...I need to get out of here. Austin stood in the Rapture Metro Station that led to Neptune's Bounty. Against a concrete pillar, there was a man strung up by his wrists that stood as a warning to the citizens of rapture. The display had a striking resemblance to a crucifixion. Except the dead man was covered in so much blood that it was hard to tell whether or not he had been skinned. Behind him, written in his own blood was the word: “Smuggler”.

The dead smuggler was a relic from the days of Fontaine and Ryan. The former was the head of an organized criminal organization that used Neptune' Bounty and the docks to smuggle all manner of illegal and illicit goods into Rapture. That included people. The later, Andrew Ryan, did everything he could to stop the criminals and smugglers. Eventually it got ugly. Really ugly.

Next to the wooden bench under the crucified smuggler there was a shotgun. Austin didn't know why it was there or where it came from but he didn't care. He needed a weapon and couldn't pass up taking it. To his surprise there was an open suitcase next to it. Articles of clothing and some papers spilled out. None of that interested him. But the money did.

Austin checked the breach and saw that the shotgun was loaded. On the other side of the pillar there was a Circus of Values vending machine. Now that he had money he could buy some ammo.  Standing beside the vending machine was a Gene Bank dispenser. He never trusted them or the DNA altering chemicals they dispensed. So he elected not to use it.

Damn. Austin heard a little girl's voice. The normally cute sound was made sinister by what it represented. There was a little sister in a nearby vent that stood between him and the flooded hallway that gave access to Neptune's Bounty.

Unable and unwilling to engage the little sister's protector, Austin hid behind some discarded luggage left near the entrance of Neptune's Bounty. From there he watched as a little girl in a Sunday dress clumsily climb out of the vent. If it weren't for her abnormally pale skin, glowing yellow eyes and large syringe, you wouldn't of been able to tell she was just another ADAM ravaged freak.

C'mon where is he? Austin waited and watched for the real threat that came hand-in-hand with Little Sisters. Sure enough he heard the thunderous footsteps of a Big Daddy. They were too close for comfort causing him to keep completely still and try and blend into the luggage.

At around seven foot tall with its skin grafted into an atmospheric diving suit made of thick stainless steel, the Big Daddy was as imposing a figure as one could find down in Rapture. It made whale noises as it lumbered towards the Little Sister. Austin's heart raced as he watched the hulking beast pass just feet in front of him. Each footfall made him want to jump up out of the luggage and run for his life.

“Mr. Bubbles!” The Little Sister was excited to see her protector and friend. She didn't seem to be afraid of the large drill that took the place of one of the Big Daddy's hands. Austin was. He'd seen what the hulking beast was capable of doing with it. Needless to say it wasn't pleasant.

“In there!” The Little Sister pointed down the flooded hallway towards Neptune's Bounty. “This way,” the creepy little girl started to skip down the hall, humming a lullaby. Her protector followed her as fast as he could which was pretty slow.

Austin waited until the Little Sister and Big Daddy were completely out of view. Knowing that they had gone to Neptune's Bounty put his plans in jeopardy. If he proceeded with planting a bomb in the Lower Wharfs, there was a good chance he'd run into them. But there was a chance that they would find whatever they were after and the creepy girl would just crawl into another vent and disappear. Without anything to protect, the hulking beast would likely leave him be. At least that's what he told himself.

CHAPTER 5

“I don't know about this bud,” said Austin. He nervously stood in front of the Kashmir Restaurant. As he stared at the pink and turquoise neon sign, his heart raced and his armpits were soaked.

“Jesus man if you don't calm down we're going to have to go get you a new shirt. Then you'll be late to your date. And I'll be damned if I let you make my sister wait,” said Austin's best friend in rapture, Andy Richards. There was a sly grin as he teased the engineer.

“You know this is kind of weird.” Austin adjusted his tie.

“What's weird about it?”

“You, so enthusiastically trying to set me up with Eleanor-”

“Emily,” corrected Andy.

“With your sister, Emily.”

“There's nothing weird about it. This place, it's filled with a lot of creeps I don't know. But you, you're my friend, a good guy and most importantly not a creep.” Andy stepped in front of Austin. “You're not a creep are you?”

“Do you really want me to say it?” asked Austin with one raised eyebrow.

Andy shrugged. “I am about to trust you with my little sis.”

“I'm not a creep Andy.”

“Good,” Andy smiled and not only moved out of the way but headed in the opposite direction of the restaurant. “Have fun.”

“Wait!” yelled Austin, louder then he meant to. Andy stopped and turned around. “How am I supposed to know who she is? What does she look like?”

“Like me but with breasts and long hair,” answered Andy. “Good luck!”

Good luck? Why would he say that? Austin wiped some sweat from his forehead and entered the Kashmir Restaurant.

Rapture residents talked a lot about the Kashmir. Their New Years Eve parties were almost as infamous as the restaurant’s nineteen fifties high end night club decor. Like all of the underwater city, it was a work of art. Austin saw it before when it was still under construction but he'd never been in since.

“Can I help you sir?” asked the Kashmir hostess. She was young and beautiful. Andrew Ryan would've been happy to have women like her as residents.

“I'm meeting someone here.”

“Let me see if we have any tables open sir.”

“I think she's already here,” Austin didn't want the nice hostess to bother looking.

“In that case, have a wonderful night.”

This was a mistake. Austin looked out over the large Kashmir Restaurant which was covered in tables with patrons sitting at them. Shaded candles were in the middle of each one providing the only real light other than some dim chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. It was dark and crowded. Considering he didn't know what Emily looked like (other than Andy with lay parts), finding her in the crowd had to be formidable task. Or so he thought.

“Austin!” Austin heard a woman yell his name. It only took him a few seconds to see a woman standing up and waving her hand in the middle of restaurant.

That's her. Calm down Austin. Be cool. You can be cool right? Don't mess this up. This is the first time in ages you've been on a date. Austin struggled to navigate the packed restaurant floor. He bumped into the back of people's chairs and even made one poor guy spill his drink. Instead of apologizing he just kept going.

“Hi there handsome, I take it you're Austin?” Emily got up and hugged Austin. Her show of affection caught him a little off guard. She kindly didn't acknowledge his sweat.

“I am,” Austin gave Emily a nervous smile. He looked at her and couldn't believe what he was seeing. She was gorgeous. Her long red hair was tied in an intricate bun. She wore a breathtaking red dress that made her stand out. And her eyes, he immediately got lost in their soulful brown irises.

“Thank god. When Andy told me he was going to set me up with one of his friends I was worried it'd be some, I don't know, someone not like you. Most of the people my brother works with are...what's the right word?”

“Shady?”

Emily laughed. “Exactly!”

“How do you know I'm not?” asked Austin, instantly regretting the question.

“Andy said you were engineer. Not one of Fontaine's goons.”

“I hope you don't mind me asking, why does Andy work for him? I mean, your brother's a smart guy. He could do whatever he wants.”

“Good evening. Welcome to the Kashmir Restaurant. My name is Rudolph. May I start you off with something to drink?” A waiter walked up and interrupted Emily and Austin's conversation.

Emily ordered some wine then waited for the waiter to leave before answering Austin's question. “That's the thing, he likes working for him. That's what he wants to do.”

“It doesn't bother you?”

“Enough about my brother, how about you? What's your story?” asked Emily as she made sure to make and maintain eye contact. Her assertiveness took him aback. She was definitely different. And he liked that.

“My story? It's not terribly interesting I'm afraid.” Austin took a nervous sip of his water.

“Somehow I doubt that.” Emily gave Austin a look that put him at ease and made him feel a little more comfortable. His nerves relaxed. Even without the wine.

“Okay. I was born in Omaha, Nebraska. My family owns a corn company up there. I wanted more than corn and money so I left home at eighteen. I joined the military, fought in the Pacific then I met Andrew Ryan. Now I'm an engineer in an underwater city.”

“That's amazing. You've done so much.”

“I'm sure you've done your fair share.”

Emily shrugged. “Not really. My parents died when I was little. Andy raised me. And when he decided to move to Rapture I went with him. Now I teach at Ryan the Lion Prep School.”

“Ryan the Lion?”

“I know it's a ridiculous name right? But it's better than being a waitress or working at a department store. What? Don't judge me,” laughed Emily.

The waiter came back with the bottle Emily ordered. He poured her a glass then went to pour Austin one. Instead of allowing it, the engineer put his hand over his glass and shook his head.

“Can I take your orders?” asked the waiter.

“Give us another minute please,” Austin gave the waiter a polite smile.

“You're not a drinker?” asked Emily after observing her date turn down wine.

“After the war I got a little carried away with the scotch and whiskey. Since I accepted the engineering job I swore off the stuff.”

“Hmmm. Now that we know each other, let's eat!” Emily picked up her Kashmir Restaurant menu.

Before the waiter could come back and take Emily and Austin's orders, the whole restaurant was interrupted by the sound of gun fire outside. They were promptly followed by a woman's screams.

As people so often do/did, many of patrons at the Kashmir Restaurant got up from their tables and crowded around the entrance to see if they could get a glimpse of what happened. Those curious diners included Emily and Austin.

Jesus. Austin was tall enough to see over the crowd. Just outside the little elevated walkway that led into the restaurant’s entrance laid an older man. Part of his head was missing. Its contents were strewn about the floor. A woman, his wife tried to go over and help him as concerned citizens held her back. Her cries were full of sadness and shock.

“What happened?” Emily asked one of the on lookers.

“Some ADAM junkie tried to rob them I think. It must've gone wrong,” answered the on looker.

That was the first time Emily, Austin and most of those who witnessed the tragedy outside the Kashmir felt something wrong with their utopia. It was the first crack in Ryan's dream. And it was an omen for things to come.

“We should-” Austin gently took Emily by her arm.

“Yeah. But wait we haven't paid,” Emily agreed but looked back. That little voice in her head knew it was wrong but like her date she knew she'd have a hard time just going back in and eating like nothing happened.

“It'll be alright. After all, I know Andrew Ryan.” Austin tried to lighten the mood.

“Oh, is that so?”

“It is. Are you impressed?” Austin led Emily away from the Kashmir Restaurant.

“Very.”

“C'mon, let me walk you home.”

“Home? You want to end our date already?” Emily shot Austin a coy smile.

Austin glanced back past Emily at the crowd around the dead woman. “No. But I thought considering what happened...”

Emily stopped walking. Austin did the same once he noticed he she wasn't following. She walked up to him and put her hands on his cheeks. They were warm.

“We aren't going stop the party just because of a little rain,” said Emily. “My mom used to say that. I know that was more than a little rain but, it still applies.”

“I know this diner, not too far away. They have the best burgers.”

“Say no more.” Emily put her finger on Austin's lips. “Let's go eat some burgers.”

Austin and Emily walked hand-in-hand. They could have utilized Rapture's public transportation system but wanted to take the long way.

If you asked Austin or Emily when they fell in love, they both probably would have given different answers. The truth was that it was sometime that night. Yes, that's not a long time to get to know someone enough to love them, but that's what happened. A couple years later their relationship ended with a Big Daddy's drill through Emily's torso.

CHAPTER 6

Are they gone? Austin stared down the flooded hallway that served as the entrance to Neptune's Bounty. The Big Daddy and Little Sister went down it over a half-an-hour earlier.

Gone or not, I need to go down there. Austin double checked his newly acquired shotgun. He took a deep breath then started down the hall.

The water was frigid and went up past Austin's ankles. To one side there were pieces of concrete blown off of the wall during the civil war. The other side was glass. Through it he saw the floating corpses of Rapture residents caught up and tangled in the seaweed. They were bloated and their skin gray. He did his best to ignore them. Still, it felt like they were watching him.

Austin hurried down the flooded hallway. The sound of dripping water made him nervous. At any time the glass wall could've shattered sending the endless tons of the Atlantic straight towards him. Though death didn't scare him dying before he destroyed the place that took his wide from him was a terrifying prospect.

Both of Austin's feet finally got out of the water and onto dry floor. His soaked shoes squeaked and squished. It wasn't an ideal situation but it would have to do.

Austin discovered a splicer's body on the floor net to a small fire. From the look of the poor bastard he'd been dead for less than a day. He could've died in any number of ways. That was until the engineer discovered a large hole in his neck. It was just like the ones cause by Little Sisters' oversized syringes. The duo from earlier were after ADAM, as per usual. Question was, why in Neptune's Bounty. For them to be that exposed was unusual.

Despite being inside Rapture, Neptune's Bounty looked any commercial docks above the waves. Where Austin entered, the Lower Wharf, the first thing he saw was Fontaine Fisheries. He was familiar with the place. Andy used to work there before the front for the city's biggest illegal smuggling operation collapsed.

I need to get this over with. The quicker the better. Austin looked out over Neptune's Bounty and tried to find the best and safest route. He saw the slotted wood floors and boxes of rotted fish that were never delivered. Even for someone so used to being around death, the smell almost made him throw up his beans.

Austin continued into the bowels of Fontaine's Fisheries. He knew the Rapture blueprints, almost by heart. He needed to. And he knew that there was a wall that bore an inordinate amount of water pressure. If blown up, he knew that all of Neptune's Bounty would be destroyed. That would be crucial to permanently ridding the world of ADAM, splicers and the other abominations that the city housed.

Being so close to the finish line hardened Austin's resolve and gifted his legs with some extra haste. After everything he'd been through since meeting Andrew Ryan in that Boston waterfront bar, he finally neared the end.

Austin entered the Fontaine Fishery warehouse floor. There were tables and a variety of machines that were once used to process, gut, debone and package fish. He looked up and saw the corridors of the elevated walkway that he needed to get to. That was where he'd get access to the weak spot in the walls.

“There's ten of us and one of him. Kill him and we get all that sweet ADAM from the girl.” Austin heard he fiendish voice of a splicer soon after making it upstairs. He couldn't see the freak.

“This way Mr. Bubbles,” Austin heard another voice. The second belonged to the Little Sister he almost ran into at the Metro Station.

Figures. Austin looked left and saw the shadows of armed splicers against the wall. He knew it a matter of seconds they'd come around the corner. To his right he saw the Little Sister skipping down the hall towards him and the freaks that wanted to kill her.

Though armed himself, Austin didn't like his chances fighting the splicers or the inevitable Big Daddy. His only hope was in a little kiosk in the middle of the corridor.

Austin got in the kiosk and lay down on his back. Looking up he saw all manner of papers and clipboards hanging from the walls of the little shack-like structure. The corrugated metal that it was constructed with wouldn't provide much protection from bullets. But it was better than being out in the open.

“There she is! Get em' boys!” Austin heard one of the splicers yell. From his location, on the floor of the kiosk, he couldn't see them. And that was probably for the best.

The ten splicers weren't in good shape. Their bodies were ravaged by mutagens and the side effects of their own addled minds. A couple looked close to death. They were desperate. With ADAM in increasingly short supply, the Little Sister was seen as a godsend. In reality it was a gift from the devil himself because their reckoning was close behind her.

“Kill it!” yelled one of the splicers. The freaks opened fire. Armed with machine guns, shotguns and pistols, they packed plenty of firepower. But their aim was bad. Most had poor vision from years in the dark of Rapture. Others had failing eyes due to their addictions.

Austin lay helpless as bullets ripped through the corrugated metal of his shack. Sparks and pieces of the cheap building material rained down on him. That's when he heard a bad sound. It was one he associated with death; the whale-esque sound of an agitated Big Daddy. Those were followed by hard and loud footsteps.

The splicers emptied their clips, cylinders and breaches into the Big Daddy. It still came at them. The beast built up so much momentum that it ran through the kiosk. All Austin heard was a crashing noise then he was buried under the walls and roof. A boot to the corrugated metal on top of his mid-section broke a few ribs.

With a swipe of its spinning drill arm, the Big Daddy took out two of the splicers. The tool/weapon made easy work of their corrupted flesh and sent blood in several directions. As the desperate splicers struggled to reload, the hulking beast impaled one of them and split the freak's steaming guts on the floor.

What…? Austin tried to regain his bearings and get up. Every breath he took hurt. That combined with the meat hook to the back he took earlier that night made digging himself out very difficult. Slowly he removed one piece of the kiosk at a time.

Three of the splicers were dead. Six of the reaming seven desperately bum rushed the Big Daddy. They took out knives, wrenches and shanks, anything that could do harm and jumped on the hulking beast. Surprisingly the monster didn't go down; instead it tried to peel them off.

The seventh splicer had a secret weapon. One of its hands started to convulse. Under its skin, every vein in the limb started to glow a very light blue. Arcs of electricity manifested between its fingers. With a pained grunt it fired off a much larger arc that hit the Big Daddy square in its chest.

All the splices that hung onto the Big Daddy's body were electrocuted. Each fell off, dead, when their heart's stopped from the high voltage shock. The hulking beast was stopped in its tracks, though not yet dead.

Plasmids. I hate those damn things. Austin crawled out of the wreckage of the kiosk. He retrieved his shotgun and watched as the plasmid wielding splicer ran towards the Big Daddy with a reloaded revolver.

The splicer grabbed the smoking Big Daddy by the cage of its helmet. Then the freak pressed the barrel of its pistol on one of the glowing red eye holes. Austin didn't count but he was pretty sure six bullets were emptied into the hulking beast's face.

Austin was never sad to see a Big Daddy die. After all one of the abominations took his Emily from him. But the one that died there in Fontaine's Fishery was protecting an innocent Little Sister. He knew what the little girls went through and wasn't about to just let it her slaughtered by an ADAM crazed splicer.

The plasmid wielding splicer didn't pay Austin any mind. He was too fixated on his fix. Austin used that distraction to his advantage. After managing to stand up he aimed his shotgun at the freak.

A sudden blow to Austin's shotgun knocked the firearm out of his hands. One of the other splicers weren't as dead as they appeared. Still smoking from its electrocution, the mutant appeared to be in a frenzy. It swung the butt of a machine gun wildly at the former engineer/soldier.

Austin did his best to avoid being struck by the machine gun butt. But he took a hit to his head that may have caused a concussion. Satisfied that he was knocked down and out, the splicer shifted its attention to the Little Sister.

“She's mine!” yelled the plasmid wielding splicer before shocking his fellow freak with another arc of electricity. It was enough to kill him.

On the floor, Austin picked up his shotgun. From his back he aimed it at the plasmid wielding splicer. Before he took one of the shocks, Austin fired two slugs. Both hit their mark killing the freak instantly.

“We aren't going to stop the party just because of a little rain.” Austin briefly considered giving up. He'd just lay there and wait for death to come to him. It would certainly be easier. What would Emily think of him if he gave up?

Getting up again was an unenviable task. Every part of Austin's body ached. Certain areas, such as his back, head, leg and especially his chest were exceptionally painful. How he was going to make it to the weak spot on the wall without completely collapsing was beyond him. How he was going to make it to the bathysphere was even more of a mystery. They were both conundrums he intended to solve.

Austin looked and saw a wide pair of glowing eyes staring at him. They belonged to the Little Sister he saved. She stared at him for a few minutes before disappearing into the vents.

Why did I go through that to save her? She's just going to die anyway when I blow this place back to hell. Even though he knew that the Little Sister was going to die soon, there was something about watching it happen that he couldn't accept. Of all the freaks and mutants of Rapture, the Little Sisters didn't have a choice in what they were.

Austin couldn't walk in a straight line. He was dizzy. Every labored breath was laced with the sharp pain of his broken rib stabbing at his lungs. Carrying his bag with the last two homemade bombs in it strained his injured back. To make matters worse, the bottom of his shoes were covered in splicer and Big Daddy blood.

The weakest portion of the wall in the Fontaine's Fishery was located in the man's office, high above the fishery floor. From the state of the small room it was clear it was rarely used. There was nothing but a few papers, a rolling chair and an ancient cup of coffee.

Austin plopped down on the rolling chair. Though it allowed him to rest it also agitated his ribs which made him yell some profanities. Once the pain was bearable he reached into his bomb bag and took out one of the explosives and the roll of duct tape.

One more to go. Austin planted his second to last bomb. That left only one final destination. He needed to make it to the Bathysphere Station. Getting there on foot was a near impossibility. If he ran into any hostiles he wouldn't be able to defend himself or run away. But there was another way.

Austin returned to the Metro. Whether it was his concussion or just a lapse in memory, he couldn't find the entrance to the bathysphere tracks. It took about fifteen minutes of looking before he found the circular sealed doors. On the floor next to it laid a dead man. He was dressed in a diving suit.

CHAPTER 7

“Is this Mr. Andrew Richards?” asked the coroner. Appropriately grim, the man looked at Austin and waited for a response.

Austin looked down at the corpse of his best friend. As sad as he was he couldn't cry. Shock was the ruling emotion of the moment.

“I think so,” Austin answered in a hushed voice.

“I'm sorry?”

“That's him.” Emily's face was buried in her husband's chest as she sobbed uncontrollably. Austin stroked the top of her head as he confirmed for the coroner that the dead body was indeed Andy.

The coroner nodded at his assist on the other side of the viewing glass. The younger man pulled the white sheet back up over Andy's chest and face.

“I know this isn't the best time. But there are arrangements that need to be made Mr. Lowe. We can have the body transported to the Twilight Fields funeral home is you wish. Or if there are other arrangements you want to make. Perhaps you want the boy shipped out of Rapture to family?”

“Yeah, okay, sure,” Austin didn't really hear a word that the coroner said.

“Very well. I'll give you some time to think it over. Please just call within twenty four hours and let us know. Sorry for your loss,” said the coroner before excusing himself from the room.

“Emily, Emily,” Austin tried to get his wife's attention. “We need to leave. It's not safe being out this late.”

Emily pried herself from her husband. “I can't just leave him here.” She walked up and placed her hand on the viewing glass. “All my life, he raised me, protected me. I can't just abandon him.”

I know honey. I know. Austin lovingly put his hands on her shoulders and guided her away from the glass. “You're not abandoning him. He's dead. I'm sorry but its reality. The last thing I think he would want for you is to risk your safety staying here any longer then you have to.”

The Medical Pavilion was one of the only places in the city that was fully staffed and very much in business. It had to be. Fontaine, Ryan and Atlas's civil war was tearing Rapture apart. All that fighting made for a steady stream of patients with stab, slice, gunshot and blunt force trauma wounds.

There were victims of the fighting everywhere. Austin held Emily tighter as the hallways got more and more congested. He tried to ignore the crying, moaning and screams of pain as people waited to see a doctor. Nurses ran frantically ran back and forth. One almost barreled through the married couple.

Austin had to stay strong. He had to ignore the horrendous memories of his time in the Pacific that all the blood sent rushing back into his thoughts. Back before Rapture seeing the scene in the Medical Pavilion would have sent him straight to the bar. If he was honest, a stiff drink was all he wanted for months.

By the time Austin and Emily reached the Medical Pavilion entrance, their shoes were covered in blood. They were both drained of emotion and ready to go to bed. All they needed to do was get home in one piece. Which was much easier said than done.

There were some more people outside the Medical Pavilion. Most were bringing people inside. Andrew Ryan hired some men to guard the complex. They stood sentinel with Thompson sub machine guns in hand. Their protection only extended to the immediate area. Once Emily and Austin got about fifty yards away, they were all alone.

This is getting creepy. Austin, with his arm still around his wife, exited the Medical Pavilion to an empty Rapture. It was quiet enough for the two of them to hear the ocean beyond the walls. Occasionally they heard gunshots. Each one made their hearts skip a beat.

That quiet was a trick. Austin knew that he could turn a corner and find trouble. So getting back to their apartments as quickly as possible was of the utmost importance. They could grieve once they were in the relative safety of their apartment.

There were multiple dangers lurking around Rapture in those days. Fontaine, Atlas and Andrew Ryan's men regularly engaged in skirmishes that too often took civilian lives. ADAM addicts turned to earlier version of the splicers that would later rule the underwater city. The rich even resorted to splicing and plasmids as Atlas's men raided their homes. A chaotic future was not only well within sight, but inevitable.

With most of the bathysphere's shut down, leaving Rapture was nearly impossible. Only the richest and most connected managed to get out. Everyone else had to endure the civil war and hope for the best.

Austin did his best to move fast. Emily was still too devastated to think clearly let alone care about who or what they might run into. Her husband knew that they could encounter erratic mentally disturbed splicers, Ryan's men or even the Big Daddy’s who were once seen as a sign of Rapture's strength.

“What is that?” Emily stopped crying and wiped her nose. She heard men's voices. It was hard not to. Amplified by a bullhorn and cavernous corridors, anyone within a mile in either direction could of heard them.

Great. Just what we needed. Austin hadn't yet become accustom to traveling in the shadows and silence. And he laid eyes on hat stood between them and their apartment. There was a whole crowd of weapon wielding men. Standing above them, on some crates, with bullhorn in hand was Atlas, the so called leader of the common man.

“Ryan speaks of social parasites and how they destroy societies. Then he goes and invites them into his utopia, his Rapture,” Atlas pointed at Austin and Emily's apartment building. All around him there was crowd of angry men and women. Most were from the lowest tier of the underwater society.

“These are the real parasites! These are the one's profiting off your hard work! Your sweat! Your tears! Your suffering! Join me in showing them that no longer will their crimes go unpunished. No longer will they step over us on their way back to their luxury apartments! No longer will we be quiet as they take our children, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers and turn them into those crazed junkies! It ends now! Are you with me!?” yelled Atlas. The mob, worked into a frenzy, yelled back in agreement. Together they stormed towards the apartments.

Austin saw the wide eyes of his scared neighbors stare out their windows at the extremely angry mob trying to break into the building. They were helpless. If he and Emily hadn't been called down to the morgue two hours earlier, they'd be stuck in there with them.

It's time to leave. Austin knew there was no way to get around the mob. And even if he and Emily did, they'd just force their way inside the apartment. The only choice was to run and hide until things died down. He couldn't fathom the idea that things wouldn't get better.

“Where are we going to go?” asked Emily as Austin almost dragged her away before someone spotted them.

“I don't know.” I really don't.

As their homes were raided and neighbors beaten and/or killed, Emily and Austin fled. The former's grief was replaced with alertness. The latter desperately tried to rack his brain for someplace safe that they could hide out in.

Where can we go that will be safe? We need someplace with automate security and plenty of places to hide. “The theater,” said Austin.

“What? This isn't the time for-”

“No, we can hide there. I can rig the turrets in the Welcome Center and we can hide in the Footlight Theater. Most of the splicers and the fighting are deeper in Rapture. That may be the only safe place.”

Emily didn't say anything she just went along with her husband. What he proposed made sense and she wasn't in the right mind to make rational decisions. Within the previous couple of hours she learned her brother was dead and her home was taken from her.

“It's going to be okay honey.” Austin and Emily walked for ten minutes before he spoke up.

“No it's not,” said Emily in a beaten emotionless voice. It was one that Austin never heard before. Gone was the energy and rambunctiousness that made him fall so hard for her.

I guess everyone had their limit. Austin rubbed her upper arm. “It will be. Trust me. We'll get through this and go back to the life we built for ourselves.”

“Don't. Please just don't.”

“What?”

“Don't act like this isn't the end. Rapture's over. You need to accept it so we can get out of this fucking place.” That was the first time in three years that Austin heard Emily curse.

“It'll get better.” That's it. Just keep repeating the same thing. Stay in denial.

“How about your family?” asked Emily. “I know how you feel about them but can't they help? Miranda and George managed to get out of the city a couple of days ago because of their connections. Can yours help us leave?”

And go where? Do what? I'll be damned if I go groveling back to Omaha looking for help. I worked too hard to avoid such embarrassment.

“I told you, I already tried. But there's no way to get in contact with the outside. We're going to have to wait until-” Austin stopped walking. He stopped his wife as well.

Down at the end of the corridor, Austin spotted two splicers. They were trying to break into a Gene Bank machine on the wall. There weren't any outlets for he and Emily to hide or go around them. But there was an El Bandito Ammunition machine a couple steps away.

Austin always thought having machines all around Rapture where a citizen could simply buy a gun as long as they had the money. It seemed extremely dangerous. But Ryan insisted on every person in Rapture being able to defend themselves and their property.

“Do you have any money on you?” asked Austin as he searched his pockets and found nothing.

“Why would I have any money?”

“That's okay. I think I can hack it. This way,” Austin motioned for Emily to follow him over to the El Bandito Ammunition machine. It greeted them with some gunshots and an obnoxious stereotypical Mexican voice that said something he couldn't understand.

The two splicers at the end of the corridor heard the El Bandito machine. Both of them stopped trying to get into the Gene Bank and turned their attention to Austin and Emily. One of them laughed before both sprinted as fast they could towards the married couple.

“Austin, baby,” Emily watched as the splicers got closer.

“I know.” Austin tried to concentrate and line up the tubes.

“Baby.”

“I know, one second.” Austin finally completed the hack. Then he chose a revolver. The firearm was produced along with a box of ammo.

One of the splicer took out a stick of dynamite. In his insanity he lit it with intentions of blowing himself and the couple up. ADAM warped his mind to the extent that a kamikaze attack for no real reason seemed reasonable.

Austin loaded the revolver. And did so just in time. If the dynamite waving splicer got any closer the explosion would have killed them. Instead the former soldier tapped into skills he hadn't called upon in over a decade and hit the stick dead on.

With one shot, Austin managed to take out two splicers. Both were obliterated by the exploding dynamite. The engineer noticed there was damage to corridor as well. The force from the explosion managed to put a crack in one of the walls. Water started to leak through.

We're lucky that explosion was small. Anything bigger and this whole place could've flooded. Austin made a mental note of the damage. Then he and Emily made for the Welcome Station.

CHAPTER 8

The diving suit was heavy and cumbersome in the best of circumstances. All that bulk was necessary. Not only did it keep out the cold but it helped alleviate the intense pressures of the deep ocean. In his injured state, Austin almost wouldn't have minded the frigid temperatures or the pressure. At least it would've been easier to move. As clumsy and uncomfortable as it was, Austin dealt with it. He was so close.

Concerned that the last bomb would get wet and be rendered unusable, Austin decided to bring it into the diving suit with him. He wrapped it around his waist with the last of his duct tape. It may have been uncomfortable but at least it would be safe.

With everything sealed, Austin waddled over to the manual control console next to the circular air tight door. Getting through that door would be easy. The difficulty was the second one that needed to be hot-wired.

A brief wave of stale air washed over Austin's diving suit as he opened the air tight door. On the other side was a small room that served as a dry dock and as a place for bathysphere riders to disembark. He'd been in one before when the transportation system was still up and operational.

Austin got into the dry dock. The air tight door closed behind him. In front of him was another, more secure and harder to open version. He had to move as fast as he could. There was little strength left in him. At any moment he feared that his body would fail on him.

Stripping and tying together the proper wires inside the dry dock controls was very hard to do with the diving suit's gloves. They were thick and lacked dexterity. Like everything else in his life for the previous few years, he made do with he had.

Okay. Here we go. Austin saw sparks fly as he tied together the two necessary stripped wires. A deep alarm sounded right before water jets on the floor, wall and ceiling started filling the dry dock with sea water. The former engineer had to wait until it was completely full before the inside air tight door opened.

Austin stood in the doorway that led out to the bathysphere tracks and tunnels. Once used for the Atlantic Express, the tracks were in a state of disrepair. No one had used them in years and maintenance had been ignored even longer. Cracks in the glass and whole pieces missing gave the engineer some pause. He knew that they threatened to buckle under his weight. But he had to try.

Above him Austin could still see the Atlantic Express tracks. The trains used to hang from rails giving riders the feeling that they were flying. He remembered first riding in one of them. It was just as magical as Ryan intended them to be. Time passed and the bathyspheres became more popular modes of transportation in Rapture.

Over and around the old Atlantic Express tracks were the half circle structures of the bathysphere tracks. They too suffered from neglect. It looked like the salt water eroded some so much that pieces fell off and broke through the glass floor. Austin tried his best to keep looking up just in case. The last thing he wanted was to be crushed or impaled so close to the finish line.

One foot in front of the other. You can do this ya jerk. Stay awake. Keep moving. You're almost there. Luckily Austin didn't have to travel far. He just kept up a steady pace.

Not that he was in any state you appreciate it, but Austin was surrounded by beauty. Through the glass beneath him was he ocean floor. Crabs and isopods crawled along with no clue the horrors that were in the nearby Rapture. All they cared about was scavenging for scraps of food on the ocean floor. Long strands of seaweed moved with the current. Sea anemones, sponges and giant tube worms went about their nearly inanimate lives. Jelly fish casually floated by.

The glass around Austin revealed the rest of Rapture and the endless dark blue beyond it. It was a sobering sight. In every direction there was nothing. He was reminded of just how isolated the underwater city was.

Austin and Emily reached the Rapture Welcome Center. It was in bad shape. Once immaculate and used as an introduction to the underwater city, pieces of the whole place were falling apart. Even the huge statue of Atlas (the myth not the man) bearing the weight of the world was in rough shape.

“Huh,” Emily, still in a weird state of mind wandered over to a neon sign next to the huge statue that filled most of the room. On it read: “Happy New Years 1959”. “Look, it's still intact.”

“That's great. Let's go. The entrance to the Footlight is right over here,” Austin motioned for Emily to come over to him.

Emily turned away from the neon sign and went over to join her husband when she heard a gunshot. Her dress, around the bottom of her right rib cage was wet. She looked up at her husband and saw him screaming while firing in the direction just above her head.

I didn't hear an alarm. Austin emptied his revolver's cylinder into the security bot that hovered just above and behind Emily. He aimed for its helicopter like rotors. Six bullets were just enough to take the flying gun out of the air. Smoke from short circuited wires and out of control rotors made the lethal little machine fly into a wall.

“Stay with me Emily,” pleaded Austin as he caught his wife just before she collapsed on the floor. He looked at her wound. It wasn't good. He'd seen one or two like it before during the war. Her blood was very dark. Most likely she was shot in the liver. Without immediate medical attention, she was as good as dead.

“The demons are afraid of us brothers! Let's kill it!” Austin heard splicers. But he couldn't see them. That meant he still had some time. First he needed to get Emily to safety.

“Run! Run, run as fast as you can. We can run as fast as the gingerbread man!” laughed another female splicer's voice. A dozen or so set of footsteps came along with her crazed speech.

“I can't,” said Emily. Blood loss was starting to take its toll. Her arms and legs felt weak. Her mind was foggy. That's when she saw what she thought was a hallucination.

“Shit! Okay, hide over here. Maybe we can hide. If not,” Austin pointed behind himself. There were some turned over benches that he and Emily could have possibly hid behind. Then he checked the bullets in his gun.

“It's a little girl,” said Emily. She started slowly walking in the direction of the oncoming splicers with one hand extended out.

What'd she say? “What?” Austin looked up and realized that his wife wasn't behind him getting into cover but instead she headed straight towards the danger. “Emily!”

Before Austin could bring his wife back, something came running out of the Footlight Theater entrance. It was a Big Daddy. The lights on its helmet were red indicating that it was there to do harm.

Austin tried shooting the Big Daddy but it was angry and determined. The engineer was pushed violently out of the way. His head collided with the wall, the collision almost made him loose consciousness. There on the floor with blood running down the back of his head he saw that Emily was directly in the path of the rampaging beast.

“It's okay. You'll be safe,” Emily kept her hand out. “What's your-” She felt the oddest sensation in her gut. After looking down she saw the source. The pointy end of spinning drill longer than a baseball bat stuck out her stomach. Thankfully she felt next to nothing before dying.

“Nooo! Emily!” Austin tried to crawl over to his dead wife. After she fell he saw what she held her hand out to. A scared looking little girl ran over and hugged the Big Daddy's leg.

The last thing Austin saw before passing out was the mob of splicers running from something. A Big Sister was close behind them taking bullets and swinging its jack hammer arm. One of the splicers was under the effects of plasmids. It set the monster ablaze.

The Big Daddy who killed Emily joined the fight. An all-out skirmish broke out in the Rapture Welcome center. Austin didn't care. He just kept crawling towards his dead wife whose lifeless eyes stared at him in disbelief and confusion.

“I'm sorry.” When Austin reached Emily he picked her up and held her while still on the floor. “I'm so sorry,” he cried as his wife's insides oozed onto his lap and the floor. “We should've left earlier.  This is all my fault. All of it.” The engineer didn't care about splicers. He didn't care about Big Daddies or Sisters. The only thing he cared about was dead in his arms. In that moment he cursed Rapture. He cursed Andrew Ryan. And he swore that he'd destroy the underwater hell that took so much from him.

A female splicer wearing a domino mask with smeared lip stick and eye liner underneath spotted Austin and Emily. She disengaged with the Big Daddy and Sister to investigate further.

“Peek-a-boo, I see you!” laughed the female splicer just before kicking Austin in his face, knocking him out.

Austin had to catch his breath after removing the diving suit. Everything ached and his energy reserves were near depleted. He needed to hurry and get the last bomb planted before he had no gas left.

The Rapture Welcome Center wasn't one of his favorite places for obvious reasons. He couldn't even bring himself to look at the spot where Emily died, let alone take one step. Even in his weakened state he hurried through the room.

It's almost like nothing happened. Austin passed the neon New Years sign that hadn't changed since the fall of Rapture. He also stepped over the remains of a Big Sister. Under its diving suit he could smell the rot of human decay.

Austin was careful to avoid any security cameras or turrets. The last thing he wanted was to be gunned done while so close to finishing his mission. Finally he reached the entrance doors.

Before Austin was the Bathysphere Station. It was a large room, not unlike the inside of a train station. Above it was a ceiling of glass. That's where he'd have to plant the last bomb.

Climbing up to the ceiling was difficult in the best of conditions. As weak as he was, Austin almost fell trying to clamber over the stacked benches, trash cans and discarded luggage he used to get that high. Somehow he managed to tape the bomb to the glass and get back down safely.

It may be way too late honey. But I'm gonna make it Emily. I'm leaving. Austin limped up stairs, through hallways until he got to one of the bathysphere docks. From the blueprints he memorized he knew that that particular one led to the lighthouse he originally arrived in. He laughed and leaned up against the wall and stared at it.

“Now to get you working,” said Austin out loud as he limped over to a control panel. It was very dark in the bathysphere dock. Only a single flickering light above provided any illumination. But it was enough.

Austin did it. He managed to reactivate the bathysphere. All he had to do was call it down from the surface. Then once he got above the waves he'd trigger the bombs he toiled so hard to plant. Unfortunately there was one last obstacle.

You've got to be kidding me. “Wherrrrrrre do you think you're going handsome?” Austin was discovered by a female splicer. He couldn't tell due to the bag and bandages around her head and face, but she sounded just like the one that kicked him in the face a little over a year earlier. Further plasmid use must've taken its toll on her, as it did all splicers.

The female splicer had a wrench in her hand. Even in the dark, Austin could see the dry blood on it. They both looked at each other before the mutated freak pounced.

Austin ducked the first blow. But with a concussion and so severely injured, that was the highlight of the fight for him. He proceeded to take several hits to his body, breaking his arm and some more ribs.

“We aren't going to stop the party just because of a little rain,” said Austin with a smile as he took out his detonator. His finger reached for the trigger. Then he took a direct blow to his head.

Austin stumbled backwards, until his back hit a wall draped in shadow. He tried using the detonator but his hands weren't listening to him. Blood streamed down his face. Everything started to go black.

As Austin slowly slipped into the cold embrace of death he saw another splicer, one with meat hooks crawl across the ceiling towards his killer. Then he heard the sound of an arriving bathysphere. The meat hook wielding splicer sliced up the female one with the utmost ease. Curiously it then left. Perhaps murder was the only reason it was there.

The last thing Austin saw before dying was the bathysphere dock door opening. Out walked a strong looking young man who was absolutely soaked. The detonator fell out of Austin's hand.

“It's okay baby. Just let go,” Austin heard Emily's voice in his head as the world was replaced with black. “Let go.”